Jun 2, 2017

Armchair Book Expo: Day 3 - Diversity & Dining

Armchair Book Expo Headquarters

Hello and Welcome to Cover2CoverBlog! 
It is another year and that means another round of Armchair Book Expo.

While some lucky bloggers and bookish people are playing in NYC at the Book Expo IRL - we are here, at home/work/etc, but still what to play -- so we do it online with Armchair Book Expo!

Here is the Agenda for the week. Feel free to join in if you are not in NYC at the Expo [or if you are, that is fine too :)], there are lots of fun prompts, twitter parties and giveaways!

 http://www.armchairbea.com/p/2017-agenda-schedule.html
Day 3
Diversity
"Book Expo sparked quite the controversy a couple years ago regarding diversity in books and authors. Where are we now? OR, let's take a different direction and explore the diversity of the format of a book. Do we judge a book by its cover and/or content (e.g.,, audio, digital, graphic, etc.)? Or, combine the two topics and discuss diversity found in alternative content (e.g., representation in graphic novels). Get creative and maybe even controversial! "
Our twitter party yesterday was about diversity and I think that we had a wonderful discussion, which I think really helped me think more about it and this post [the Armchair Team is so clever :)]
I think the authors and publishers are trying really hard to get diverse books out there, when I was a teen there were no LGTBQ+ reads and now they are coming out at a regular pace. I think that I am seeing more main characters of different cultures and races - but maybe that is also because we are SO focused on them?

So putting this out there - I am a white female from the US, so I can relate to A LOT of characters. I know that it is harder for others. I think that we automatically gravitate toward what we are/know and for me that is not hard. I think we do need more options though. 

I also think that though publishers try the best they can to put out more diverse books there is backlash at times... it is a slow process but we are getting there.

Here are a few diverse book recommendations, but I am also not from these representations so I recommend them as I am:
Pashmina
Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani
Coming: October

From Goodreads: "Pashmina tells the story of an Indian-American girl who struggles to fit in at high school, then discovers more about her family's history with the help of her mother's magical pashmina."


From Goodreads: "New York Times  bestselling author David Levithan tells the based-on-true-events story of Harry and Craig, two 17-year-olds who are about to take part in a 32-hour marathon of kissing to set a new Guinness World Record—all of which is narrated by a Greek Chorus of the generation of gay men lost to AIDS.

While the two increasingly dehydrated and sleep-deprived boys are locking lips, they become a focal point in the lives of other teen boys dealing with languishing long-term relationships, coming out, navigating gender identity, and falling deeper into the digital rabbit hole of gay hookup sites—all while the kissing former couple tries to figure out their own feelings for each other.
"
Lowriders in Space (Lowriders in Space, #1) 

From Goodreads: "Lupe Impala, El Chavo Flapjack, and Elirio Malaria love working with cars. You name it, they can fix it. But the team's favorite cars of all are lowriders—cars that hip and hop, dip and drop, go low and slow, bajito y suavecito. The stars align when a contest for the best car around offers a prize of a trunkful of cash—just what the team needs to open their own shop! ¡Ay chihuahua! What will it take to transform a junker into the best car in the universe?

Striking, unparalleled art from debut illustrator Raul the Third recalls ballpoint-pen-and-Sharpie desk-drawn doodles, while the story is sketched with Spanish, inked with science facts, and colored with true friendship. With a glossary at the back to provide definitions for Spanish and science terms, this delightful book will educate and entertain in equal measure
."


Get It Together, Delilah!

From Goodreads: "A story about falling in love, literally.

Seventeen-year-old Delilah Green wouldn’t have chosen to do her last year of school this way, but she figures it’s working fine. Her dad is on a trip to fix his broken heart after her mom left him for another man, so Del’s managing the family café in his absence. Easy, she thinks. But what about:
- homework and the nasty posse of mean girls making her life hell
- or how one of Del’s best friends won’t stop guilt-tripping her
- and her other best friend is so in love with his tutor he might go to jail for her if Del doesn’t do something

But who cares about any of that really, because above all else, she can’t stop thinking about beautiful Rosa who dances every night across the street until one day Rosa comes in the café door . . .

And if Rosa starts thinking about Del, too, then how in the name of caramel milkshakes will Del get the rest of it together?
"

 

From Goodreads: "Wise, funny, and heartbreaking, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran’s last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.

Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life. Marjane’s child’s-eye view of dethroned emperors, state-sanctioned whippings, and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary family. Intensely personal, profoundly political, and wholly original, Persepolis is at once a story of growing up and a reminder of the human cost of war and political repression. It shows how we carry on, with laughter and tears, in the face of absurdity. And, finally, it introduces us to an irresistible little girl with whom we cannot help but fall in love.
"

Dining with Authors
"Every year at Book Expo, children and adult authors are featured during breakfast. Who would you dream of enjoying a meal with? Would it be breakfast, lunch, dinner, or simply coffee? What would your meal be? What would you discuss? "
Hm... this is a hard one. I think I would like to have coffee with Jay Kristoff -  he seems like a crazy cool dude.... 

 Happy Day 3 of Armchair Book Expo!



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